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Topic: Gold Prospecting? (Read 49786 times)

I agree with you Shawn, I just got a little cranked up when I was ,in so many words, called a liar. I didn't lie and won't apologize for telling the truth. Like I said, believe what you want.I won't respond to anyone who wants to argue here, and it was never my intention to start a war over a stupid T.V. show. So lets talk prospecting. :) What did you find and where did you find it ? It doesn't need to be gold to be a treasure,could be coins,rocks ,artifacts or just about anything. :-D

I remember whem I was little my father and uncle went out with their metal detectors. My uncle found a jar of gold coins by an old bucket and rope well. My father died about 6 years ago and I lost contact with my uncle so I dont know what he did with them. Colorado has some gold mines but all are private property and well guarded. I guess I could find a stream or river that is close to the minds and look, as long as it is state land. So if you find gold on state land can you keep it or does it go to the state or do you have to split it?

So if you find gold on state land can you keep it or does it go to the state or do you have to split it?

I think it depends on the state. I know here in Washington you're required to report your findings and over a certain amount you have to pay taxes on it. I haven't found much, but it's still a blast. Always wanted to try my hand at dredging, but the laws here for moving "spawning beds" are nearly impossible to beat. Too much red tape. I just stick to my ol trusty Garrett plastic pan and my Keene Engeneering sluice box. Last year up on the Carbon River I found a nice little coin shaped nugget about the size of my pinky fingernail with just a pan and garden hand trowell. I was so shocked by my first nugget find that I dropped it back into the river. Was on my hands and knees for 20 minutes in the water looking for it. lol.

Sean Kelly

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"My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste" - Proverbs 24:13

:roll: Ok boys, that's enough. Knock it off or we'll make you sit in the corner. ;)

Now lets go back to talkin bout gettin a little color in our pan!

Sean Kelly

AMEN brother :)How far are you from Oregon? I have friends who have a big placer mine there and they also had some dredging claims that they did well on.I guess there is lots of gold there,but your state and Idaho should also have lots. Regulations and distance always seem to be a problem, don't they.

I remember whem I was little my father and uncle went out with their metal detectors. My uncle found a jar of gold coins by an old bucket and rope well. My father died about 6 years ago and I lost contact with my uncle so I dont know what he did with them. Colorado has some gold mines but all are private property and well guarded. I guess I could find a stream or river that is close to the minds and look, as long as it is state land. So if you find gold on state land can you keep it or does it go to the state or do you have to split it?

I do most of my prospecting in Az. You are not allowed to prospect on state trust land, you can't even go on it unless you have a permit or hunting or fishing license. You can go on B.L.M. land any time but can't prospect on someones claim. If not claimed or you have the claim owners permission your all set and what you find is yours.Is there any gold by you or is it all to the west of you in the mountains? There has to be some B.L.M. land by Pueblo area I would think.

AMEN brother :)How far are you from Oregon? I have friends who have a big placer mine there and they also had some dredging claims that they did well on.I guess there is lots of gold there,but your state and Idaho should also have lots. Regulations and distance always seem to be a problem, don't they.

I'm only a couple hours drive from the Oregon/Washington border. Just 2 years ago we actually lived in Portland, Or. but moved back up to Washington to get away from the high crime. Tried a little prospecting over on the Coast range, west of Portland and some up near Mt. Hood in the cascades with little luck. I know there are TONS of claims and good gold to be found in southern Oregon. I worked with a guy who has a placer claim down near Medford which paid out several times. He invited me to come along, but he went to work somewhere else and I haven't heard from him since.Washington has had it's own little "gold rushes". Up near the now ghost town, Monte Crisco, there was a pretty big strike in lode mining. Several smaller mines popped up all around that area. It's up north near Darrington. My dad has some property up in Darrington along the Sauk river which has also proven to have some gold. We've tried a little panning and slucing off the river bank with not much luck. I know there are some creeks up above in the state forest that have done pretty well also.I live near Tacoma which is about 50 miles south of Seattle. Not much here besides the Carbon River and way up river on the White River. The problem with the Carbon is that it comes straight out of Mt. Rainier in the Rainier National Park. Like all national parks, no prospecting whatsoever is allowed. I've hear stories of folks sneaking way up into the park and finding some great gold with just a pan. Don't wanna get caught though, big fines.I have a VERY promising spot that I'm going to check out this summer. I've read articles about this spot in ancient archived newspapers from 100 years ago in the Seattle PI and did some research and found that no one owns claims on this land (anymore.. was a claim on it 80 years ago but it's been lost in time). I'd tell you where it is but then I'd have to kill ya. j/k lol!!! I'll let you all know where it is after I go through it with a fine tooth comb and not find anything. ;)Very much looking forward to gettin wet and muddy in the creeks this summer! Can't wait to dust off my sluice and try out my brand new steel pan that I got last season and never used.

Sean Kelly

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"My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste" - Proverbs 24:13

So Sean did you find the nugget you dropped :? Maybe one of these days Ill be able to go out with the kids and strike it rich. Kind of hoping for a boulder of gold! :-D

No, never did. That was one of those times I really wished I had a metal detector. The water I dropped it in was pretty fast moving and about a foot deep. It's lost for good. I need to go back up to that spot too and dig around some more. Didnt find anything besides that nugget that day though. Wasn't looking very hard either.

You know, you strike it rich everytime you go do stuff like prospecting with your kids. I know I'll never get rich off of pannin and slucin, but I become a better person every second I'm out there with my Dad or my kids. To me, that's worth more than it's weight in gold.

Sean Kelly

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"My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste" - Proverbs 24:13

Sean,My friends are from Wash. but they mine in So. Oregon on the Burnt River, I think. It's not govt. land, he leases from a land owner, pays the guy like a thousand $ or so a month while he mines, summer only. Last time I talked to him he was going to sell his black sand to some outfit who will process it. I guess it's loaded with gold and Dan has tons of it. He said they were going to pay him enough to make him debt free,and I know he had a lot of debt. He said his payments were $18,000.00 per month on equipment.I think I'll stick to my 4 metal detectors and have fun instead of ulcers.

So Sean did you find the nugget you dropped :? Maybe one of these days Ill be able to go out with the kids and strike it rich. Kind of hoping for a boulder of gold! :-D

Shawn,I know a couple who live about 100 mi. north of me who came out to Stanton Az.and didn't know a thing about gold , bought a minelab detector,went out the day after they learned how to use it and found a hunk of quartz with about a pound of gold in it. It wasn't a boulder,about the size of a softball,but who cares,you could call it a boulder if you want.Thats whats great about prospecting, ya never know,you might get skunked a lot but when you get that color or nugget it's a real rush.By the way my friends never found any more gold after the big whopper,I don't think they go out much any more.The big boulder is waiting for you and your family, I'm sure God put one somewhere just for you and yours. Enjoy the hunt and each other.

Gracie should be old enough to go with you this year. What a treasure if she finds even the tiniest nugget! She can keep it & every time she sees it she will be reminded of special time with Dad! Those moments are what makes families, no matter what happens in life, you can look at a small object & go back to the safe, fun, magical times with the most important people in your life! Jody

It's actually funny, I got a t-shirt from the GPAA for Gracie when she was born that says "I'm Daddy's Little Prospector" which she fits into now! Had her wearing it yesterday when she and I had some daddy-daughter time fishing at the U-Fish in Orting while mommy and the new baby got some peace & quiet back at home. Grace even has here very own "kid-sized" gold pan!

What a treasure if she finds even the tiniest nugget! She can keep it & every time she sees it she will be reminded of special time with Dad!

I can't even find a tiny nugget!! lolBut it's not about getting the gold, it's about the search. Just being outside with the family, in the mountains, playing in the water. What's great about this hobby is if you get bored running dirt through a sluice box, you could always take a swim or do a little fly fishing!!!

Sean Kelly

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"My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste" - Proverbs 24:13

i see its been a while since any body posted this thread, my mothers family were 5 generations in the mining in alaska and i intend to spend next summer carrying on the tradition, my bro in law and i both joined gpaa this summer(were in colorado) but so far we've found about 10$ worth of gold with our $1300 worth of equipment lol. looking forward to going home next spring and seeing how for out in the woods i can get for the summer! hold onto those precious times with you daughter sean, my oldest got married last christmas, they grow up fast

No doubt they grow fast. My oldest started preschool this year and I dont think I was ready. :-)

I hear you about spending lots and getting little. But I think it's the same with all hobbies. So far after the thousands I've spent on beekeeping, I've only made around $100 in honey sales in 3 years doing it. Same with prospecting. All the gas $$ I've spent driving up to the hills to just dig my pan in the gravel is just crazy. But I still do it.

A trip to Alaska would be really awesome! I'm totally jealous! I did a little panning on the Kenai river when I went up for a fishing trip. Didn't find anything. I did find out that the Kenai was off limits for prospecting and was protected by the state of Alaska. Good thing I didn't get caught! I did catch tons of fish though. :-)

Sean Kelly

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"My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste" - Proverbs 24:13

glad you had fun, next time you go up drop me a line, i can put you in touch with the kenai gpaa contact, thats how i'm starting out next spring. also have a friend who is a driftboat guide on the kenai :D

We've got gold and gem prospecting on private land in N. Georgia.No open mines or hunting on state or federal lands, that I know of.A lot of pay for a day private mines arround. Gems are fun to find but don't expect too much in the way of gold, I've spent a few hard days panning for a few miniscule flecks. But, some get lucky.Check out the show "Cash and Treasures" on the travel channel or youtube. N. Georgia and the Carolinas are loaded with gems.

I have always been fascinated with prospecting. Are there any places in the east that one can prospect? I'd love to take a weekend with the kids to do some primitive camping and see what we could find.

I'm sure there are lots of places. I guess at one point a huge glacier pushed tons of material from northern canada down into the midwest and east coast. When I have an extra minute I'll check my GPAA claims guide book to see if your area has much. Even if there isn't, you'd be surprised where you'll find gold. I read an article in Gold Prospecting magazine a year or so ago about this guy who built a sluice out of parts from an old chicken coop and ran it on a stream somewhere in Nebraska and actually found some! Nebraska is defiantly not known for gold. So get yourself a cheap plastic gold pan and a book on how to prospect off the internet and find a nice stream and practice panning! You'll never know what you'll find.

Sean Kelly

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"My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste" - Proverbs 24:13